Five days ago i received for testing under the Samsung Mobilers program the new Samsung tab. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. As luck will have it i actually received what i wanted (other options were Nexus 2, Wave 3 and Galaxy Note). No matter how tempting the other options were (Galaxy Nexus for the Ice Cream Sandwich, Note as a marriage between Tablet and Phone or Wave 3 for Bada) the tablet was exactly what i needed. A very portable tablet indeed (just under 8mm thick and weighing only 340g!!!) and quite eye-catching (the exterior design and the Super AmoLED Plus screen).

Hardware specification is impressive with it`s 1,4 Ghz Dual core processor, Mali 400MP video. It has GPS, Bluetooth and many more.

The 3.2 MP camera proves very decent even in poor lighting conditions and although it`s just a 3.2 MP camera it still manages to capture a 720p 30fps video stream. The tablet also sports a 2MP front-facing camera for video calling.

Battery-life offers a whopping 10 hours for video, considering the tablet`s size - where they`ve fitted a 5100 mili amps battery in a 7,89 mm 340g tablet is a mistery to me.
The tablet comes with GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity. It has a Micro SD card slot that supports up to 32 GB and also a proprietary Samsung cable that breaks-out into USB. There is no miniUSB but that could probably be solved with an adapter.

But let`s stop with the technical stuff and concentrate on more important things. The Super AmoLED Plus screen with it`s 1200×800 resolution offers an unbelievable visual experience. You`ve heard this all before but…the blacks are actually black and they`re deep and the white`s are white and punchy and the colors are vivid and vibrant while textures and tones appear natural and convincing. “Visual paradise on the go” indeed.

How does it make my life easier? First and foremost portability. The tablet is so light and fits comfortably in hand (watching an 1hour and a half movie in a plane or train doesn`t degenerate into a debilitating paralysis). Unlike the Galaxy Tab 7, the software adapts better to the device`s characteristics….it doesn`t look like a phone on steroids anymore…i read that somewhere, it`s not my wording but it expresses my feelings exactly.

Android Honeycomb 3.2 and the TouchWiz UI look and move flawlessly. The Chrome browser has tabs :-), Social Hub, Readers Hub, Game Hub, Music Hub apps cover all your needs for entertainment and social networking you might have.

The tab comes with an infra-red port and with the Smart Remote app which renders all your remotes obsolete, be it TV, Blue-Ray, DVD, audio/video receivers etc. It could also render your current smartphone obsolete…that is if you don`t mind the size of it. The new APTX Bluetooth codec offers an excellent sound via Bluetooth headphones (bye-bye cables).

Personally, with my passions - music and reading - i find this tablet more than helpful. The sound is truly exceptional (my Sennheisers are exemplary driven) : uncolored, with real clarity, excellent soundstaging, with air around instruments, uncompressed and with excellent dynamics. As for the reading part, the truly splendid screen offers a very pleasant unfatigueing reading (my Kindle gathers dust lately).

Another interesting experience for me is gaming. And no i am not reffering to the flavor of the week type of games or next gen graphics games, i`m talking about my childhood`s games…i am now playing Dizzy on a DOS emulator.
Summing up, i believe this to be an ideal Christmas gift, light as a snow flake, faster than Rudolph and jollier than Santa himself.